Pumpkin Bread
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
Kids love it, grown-ups love it…this pumpkin bread is hard to beat!
My grandmother clipped this pumpkin bread recipe from a magazine over 50 years ago, and it is my most-cherished family recipe. One of my clearest childhood memories is baking the loaves with my mom and carting them off to every neighborhood potluck and holiday party. Now I bake pumpkin bread with my own kids, and it’s just as wonderful today as it was back then. It’s easy to make — just a bit of mixing and stirring, pop it in the oven, and, in about an hour, you’ll have a house smelling of sweet autumn spices and two scrumptious, pumpkiny loaves.
Above, you can see the original recipe from my grandmother’s recipe box—it’s definitely seen its share of spills! After a bit of research, I discovered that the recipe was first published in the McCalls Cook Book (Random House, 1963). It is a typical sweet quick bread, similar to banana bread or cranberry nut bread, leavened with baking powder and/or baking soda instead of yeast. Quick bread batter can often be used to make muffins, and my pumpkin muffins are nearly identical to this bread, but with the addition of a pecan streusel topping.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Pumpkin Bread
How To Make Pumpkin Bread
Begin by combining the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. I like to add everything in neat little piles in case I lose track of what I’ve added.
Whisk well and set aside.
Combine the butter and sugar in a large bowl or in the bowl of an electric mixer.
Beat until just combined. It will look a little crumbly.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Continue beating for a few minutes until light and fluffy.
Add the pumpkin.
Beat until combined. It will look a little curdled or grainy — that’s okay.
Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture.
And beat on low speed until just combined.
Transfer the batter to loaf pans.
Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Let the loaves cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.
That’s all there is to it. Enjoy!
You May Also Like
Video Tutorial
Pumpkin Bread
Kids love it, grown-ups love it…this pumpkin bread is hard to beat!
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1½ sticks (¾ cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 (15-oz) can 100% pure pumpkin (I use Libby's)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Generously grease two 8 x 4-inch loaf pans with butter and dust with flour (alternatively, use a baking spray with flour in it, such as Pam with Flour or Baker's Joy).
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Whisk until well combined; set aside.
- In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until just blended. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until very light and fluffy, a few minutes. Beat in the pumpkin. The mixture might look grainy and curdled at this point -- that's okay.
- Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until combined.
- Turn the batter into the prepared pans, dividing evenly, and bake for 65 – 75 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the loaves cool in the pans for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Fresh out of the oven, the loaves have a deliciously crisp crust. If they last beyond a day, you can toast individual slices to get the same fresh-baked effect.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The bread can be frozen for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, wrap it securely in aluminum foil, freezer wrap or place in a freezer bag. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
Nutrition Information
Powered by 
- Per serving (24 servings)
- Serving size: 1 slice
- Calories: 166
- Fat: 6 g
- Saturated fat: 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 26 g
- Sugar: 17 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Sodium: 117 mg
- Cholesterol: 31 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I made this yesterday and it was fantastic. Moist and super flavourful, really lovely!
Amazing!
I made this recipe 5-8 times this Fall 2022. Me, my fiance, and friends loved it.
Just made this and turned out absolutely great! So moist and perfect. This is a keeper
Thanks for sharing
If I use salted butter and leave out the added salt, will that be enough or too much for the
recipe ?
Sure – while it varies by brand, most salted butter has approximately 1/4 tsp. salt per stick, so you can use the salted butter and reduce the salt in the recipe as needed. Hope that helps!
I have made this recipe many many times, it turns out wonderful every time!
I do have one question if I lighten the batter by adding whipped egg whites could I this as a yule log base?
Hi Jenny, I wish I could help, but I really don’t know — I’m sorry!
Just wanted to give a little update. Unfortunately even with the whipped egg whites to lighten it the cake was still too wet and once it was rolled it kind of collapsed in on itself.
It’s still by far the best pumpkin bread I’ve ever had and I 100% recommend everyone to try it, just not as a Yule log…apparently.😂
Awww…that’s a bummer! I’m glad that you gave it a try at least – thanks for reporting back! 🙂
This bread was fabulous. Moist, tasty very easy to make. I have already made it several times and would recommend it to others.
I don’t even know where to start. How is something this light and fluffy yet moist at the same time? The flavors are so rich and deep yet not one thing is overpowering. And all so simple to make?!? This is my favorite thing in the world now. I want to have a constant supply on hand and at the ready. Thank you for this.
Outstanding recipe!
Excellent! To all those that say the recipe doesn’t come out right….it is YOU…NOT the recipe!!!! If you see/read all the 4 and 5 star reviews, it is OBVIOUS that YOU are doing something not quite right!! Here’s a little tip….WEIGH your dry ingredients instead of measuring them. You would be suprised what a difference this makes!! But even with ‘measured’ dry ingredients, this bread is the bomb….IF you measure your ingredients PROPERLY!! There is really NO reason for ANYONE to make this bread unsuccessfully….UNLESS YOU are doing something wrong! Don’t blame the recipe!!!!
Also….ALWAYS bring your eggs to ROOM TEMPERATURE before using them in ANY baked goods! They blend better with the batter and help the breads/cakes to rise better. Using cold eggs straight from the fridge makes for lumpy dough, and, ultimately, will require more cooking time!!
I AGREE 10000000% !!!
I get sooo many compliments when i make this bread. Thank you Jen
Clove taste way too strong, maybe 1/2 or 1/4 would be enough. The bread taste overwhelmingly of cloves. Could be enjoyable otherwise.
Happy Holidays Jenn,
I make this bread and love it during the holidays. I have a loaf pan that is double the size that your recipe requires. Do you think I’ll have any trouble doubling recipe and using just the one pan? It usually works for other recipes but does require some additional cooking time.
Hi Jacquie, You can use that pan but I don’t think you need to double the recipe; you can just put all the batter in the pan. The bake time will be different but I’m not sure by how much, so you’ll need to keep an eye on it. Enjoy!